Summer 2011: Marathoner

Zach ran his first marathon in July. He's been training for it for a long time and he did great! It was run along the coast at Rodeo Beach.



Yet again, we were completely unprepared for California coastal weather. It is always the opposite of what we are expecting. I should start bringing supplies for all weather conditions. Oh, well. At least it wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. And either way, we still had a great time.



A well placed plank entertained the boys for a long time. It was brilliant.



We walked up and down the beach several times, playing in the waves and picking up pretty stones. Sadly, I tripped backwards over a rock and dropped our camera full into wet sand. It's been mad at me ever since, but it still mostly takes pictures, so not all bad.



Zach ended up getting 7th overall and 2nd in his age group! We were very impressed. And the boys were so happy that he got two medals! (one for finishing and one for placing). And it was such a fun beach that I didn't mind being with the kids for a couple hours by myself (but don't tell Zach, because I think he still owes me. :)



Our gallant marathoner, boldly facing into the wind. And looking forward to a great post-race burger!

Summer 2011: Ben and Sam's Birthday

My little baby boys turned five this year! It is mind boggling. We had a lot of fun celebrating this year. We played in our (very) little pool, because it was a scorcher and went to McDonald's in classic birthday celebration fashion. Then came home for some cake and presents.



I'm pretty terrible at decorating cakes, but Ben liked the icing robot so much that he cut him out all for himself.



The party really got started when we went on our camping trip. The boys picked camping over a friend party. We went to a little state park in the middle of farming country. We woke up to a cow mooing quite loudly across the river.



We swam, splashed and played in the river. We had s'mores and burgers for dinner. The boys loved it. And Charlotte did well, too.



When we woke up and got packed up we went on a completely annoying hike. The "lake" we were heading to was more of an algae covered puddle, it was extremely hot, and the boys got worn out pretty quickly. The highlight was finding a dead possum on the trail.



But at least Charlotte looked cute.



Afterwards we went to the river's beach and let the boys fish for a while. They did great, but sadly didn't catch anything. They did completely drench their pants though, so not a total loss.



It was a most splendid birthday.

Easter Awesomeness

Easter always seems to sneak up on me. Even this year, when it was so late, it had that revelation a week or so before the big day that it was a comin' and fast. Luckily, our neighborhood has a yearly egg roll party that all I have to do is show up to with my brood in tow. It's delightfully easy.


Because there are a limited number of eggs, the kids are only supposed to have a dozen each. The boys ran straight out of the gate gathering as many as they could lay their little hands upon. Which ended up being closer to twenty. So, we threw some back. Sam figured out that he could switch out the eggs in his bag for the new eggs on the ground, which kept the magic alive for him.


I wanted to take a nice photo of the kids for Easter. I wanted them to wear these brown shirts. Ben would only do it if he could wear the striped shirt he picked out underneath. He kept trying to take it off before the picture was taken.


The boys are trying to help calm Charlotte down in this picture.


And have succeeded here.


Sam managed to keep Charlotte happy as a clam by giving her his (most likely grimy, dirty) finger to suck on. He is such a sweet, little guy.


This is how Charlotte travels most of the time, strapped to one of us, bobbing her head about, looking at everyone and being generally fawned over. She really is a charmer.


After we had hunted out our eggs (they're just laying on the grass, so it's not terribly difficult) and sat about for a while, Ben saw a friend of his with a face painting and wanted to get one. In the line he said he wanted a dragon across his face.


Then at the last minute he changed it to a skull. Ya, know, to stay with the spirit of the holiday. It rocked.


Sam saw it and decided he should get one too.



His is a skeleton comet. Awesomeness.


These are the baskets for the boys. There wasn't much rhyme or reason to them this year. Just some things. I did manage to make a puzzle ball for Charlotte, though. And it's very neat. I think she'll like it when she has more control over her hands.

Here are some Easter photos of Charlotte and me in our purpley best. And one of Ben's purpley best as well.







Yes, we are so cute. Happy Easter!

Visitors and New Years 2010!

This is how you may be feeling about my shabby efforts at recording the awesomeness that is our lives.

All I can say is, "I'm sorry. But, really, you should probably calm down. There is no need for faces like that."

Now. Let's move on. A few days after Christmas Zach's family (Scott/Grandpa, Shauna/Grandma, Hannah and Emma) came for a lovely visit. It was much, much fun.

We showed them around town a bit, and saw a movie, and ate a lot of delicious food. I forgot to take pictures of these things, so you'll just have to use your imagination. And make sure to imagine them as being loads of fun, because that's what they were.

On New Years Eve we went down to Monterey to go to the Aquarium there. We've never been there and everyone was very interested in going. It did not disappoint.


This is a sea lion (or a seal? I can never tell the difference) That was just out on a rock off the aquarium.


Sam and the aquatic mammal. Sam showed just how much he appreciated seeing this amazing creature so close by using the telescope to look at the buildings behind us. It was free, so I don't mind.


Ben and Jelly Fish. He really enjoyed these.


Actually we all enjoyed these. They are very mellow when they are behind glass. Unlike when you see them at the beach and are constantly wondering if you are about to be stung. Not like that at all.


Scott/Grandpa, Sam and Ben at the touching pools. Sam tentatively touched several of the creatures and enjoyed himself thoroughly, and then went to play a game.


Ben managed to get pretty wet. He was very vigorous in his touching (and got the attention of some of the aquarium employees).


Ben and Sam under the wave window. They could have stayed there all day.

Also, while we were looking at the penguins, the electricity all went out and a barrier came down over the glass. It was pitch black. Luckily I happened to be kneeling by the boys, because they got a little freaked out. Then it all came back on and the barrier went up. All the penguins were out of the water walking towards their keepers, who had been feeding them at the time. Then later there were two penguins swimming around in the exhibit for the San Fransisco Bay. With sharks and seaweed and everything. They had no business at all being there. I think, and everyone will back me up on this, the penguins were up to something. Something mischievous.

Thanks for the visit, guys! We had tons of fun! Come back, soon!

The Great Outdoors

Ben and Sam have been begging to go on a camping trip. Begging. It's adorable and a little pathetic. They were asking me all day when we were going camping, and then the second Zach would get home they would ask him. I'm all for camping. It's fun, cheap, chaotic, and good for the soul. Especially once you are home and showered. So, we went camping for a night down in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Partially to have a fun time with the boys and part as an experiment to see what kind of gear we needed to make camping a more enjoyable experience for all of us.

We had a lot of fun, despite the fact that it was absolutely freezing. It took me a whole day to warm up again.

Ben and Sam climbing on a fallen tree (Sam insisted on wearing flip-flops)


This was the start of a little hike we took after we had the tent all set up and whatnot. Very slow going.

The hike went something like this: Walk ten feet. See a leaf. Stop and examine leaf. Walk two feet. See a stick. Stop and pick up stick. Walk twenty feet swinging the stick and insisting on holding Mommy's hand. Mommy makes you put down the stick or walk farther away from everyone to avoid eyes getting poked out. See rock! Stop and pick up rock. Throw rock. Cry because you want another rock. Look! Another rock. Etc, etc.

Obviously, it was an awesome hike. Actually, it was right up my alley because I am a super slow hiker.


The waterfall we hiked to. (It wasn't quite as steep a drop as it looks in this picture, but we still kept a hold of the boys)

Ben and Waterfall (and my hand grabbing onto his jacket)

Right after we left the waterfall we were standing by a large sandstone rock formation and Ben found a newt/salamander (I'm really not sure which is which). Ben wanted to keep it for a pet and Sam kept saying, "what a cute little guy!"

the boys and wild newt

We continued our hike on to Slippery Rock, where we climbed up to the top. On the way down Sam got ahead of everyone and came within about twenty feet of three deer. He thought is was cool, but not as cool as a newt. Not even close.

Sitting at the top of Slippery Rock

What Ben and Sam really wanted to do while camping, the one thing that could not by any means be forgotten, was to build a fire and roast marshmallows. We could only find strawberry and vanilla flavored marshmallows at the store the day before. Weird, but the boys liked them.

Also, the wood we bought was quite wet, so we had a bit of trouble getting our fire started. Annoying, but we finally got it going. And since Ben and Sam really didn't want their marshmallows getting hot or browned at all, just wanted to put them in the general direction of a flame and then eat them off the stick, it was fine.


Fearless Adventurers and Marshmallows


Once the logs actually caught fire a little

The only eventful thing about the night, besides a raccoon encounter was that it was cold. And in the morning it seems even colder. I let the boys keep their pajama shirts on because they were shivering in a sad way.

After breakfast and packing up, we went on another little walk to see some of the biggest redwood trees in the park. They are pretty impressive. The boys spent the whole time pretending to be carrying tiny, baby dragons around. I'm not sure why. I guess they figure this would be the kind of environment a dragon would live in.

Jumping the Fence to see the brook.


Nature Boys

It was awesome, despite being freezing. And to further drive that point home, I made a little video of the event. It's not loading here for some reason, so here is a link to it. Enjoy!

He just felt like running...

Zach is a running fool these days.  He runs a lot.  And he is forever looking at shoes and runner's world and talking with other running fools about running.  It's officially an obsession.  But he's getting into really great shape, so I'm not complaining.  Too much.  

He's working up to a marathon slowly and is probably going to do one later this year.  Last Saturday he ran his first Pikermi, so he is officially half way there.  He was pretty nervous that morning, kinda jittery like, even though, I think, he's already run this distance before.  But, then again, this was up in the mountains in rainy, muddy conditions.  But I've heard that "pre-race jitters" are pretty common.  

Zach, running in a field to get warmed up before the race

(I would be sitting down, to avoid running as much as possible before the race)

We were hoping and planning on having a little BBQ and hiking some of the trails they have up there, but the weather wasn't great for it.  It had rained all night and then cleared up for long enough that the boys and I to eat donuts and find the playground in a mere drizzle. 

Sam and Ben in the rain

Ben in the Rain 

(That's his dog Chocolate, who doesn't like to get wet)

As we were playing on the playground in the light drizzle, and I was under and umbrella attempting to read a book, the real rain started up.  Of course, it only lasted long enough for us to get uncomfortably moist and into the car and then it stopped.  Ah.  So we just went back to the race finish and stood in the rain and waited for Zach to finish.  

Awful picture of Zach finishing

He reached his goal of 8 minute miles and had a finishing time of 1:45:07.  Which I think is pretty darn awesome.  He was, of course, completely soaked and the backs of his legs were covered in mud.  Sam said he didn't know it was him when he saw him.  And then we went home and had the BBQ in our backyard, so it was a pretty splendid day overall, I'd say.  

Sand, Sun, Surf, and Kites

A while ago (think President's Day) we decided that we needed to do something.  So, we bought a kite from Costco and went to the beach.  And we invited our pals Todd and Betty & Co. to come along.  And it's a good thing that we did, too.  Because not only did we enjoy their company and all, but I forgot our camera and shared their pictures with us.  Awesomeness.

We swung by the Happy Taco again, which still has good food and awesome agua de fresa and I still highly recommend.  And Betty gave it here stamp of approval as well, which I think is a good sign.

Zach and Sam getting the kite set up. 

(I'm in the background trying to calm Ben down because of his water fears)

We've been having some really amazing weather.  It seems that this has been the best "winter" weather since we've been here or maybe I'm just getting used to the very wet weather this time of year.  It has been raining a lot, but once it stops raining, the weather is sunny and warmish.  It's a pretty nice mix.

We went with a circle kite because I liked it, and because all the cooler ones were gone.  Ah, life.  In spite of the really beautiful sunshine, it really wasn't all that windy, so our kite didn't make it up too high or for too long.

Sam and Ben leave Zach to put the kite together by himself and start sandcastle building.

The Macks had a cool dragon kite which caught the wind better than our and looked really cool doing it.  But, either way, I really like these pictures of Zach and Sam below.  

Ben, who has a pretty intense fear of being dragged away by the waves, was being a bit of a handful and we decided to pack up and head to the top of the cliffs, where the wind was better.  Todd managed to get the kite up pretty well there, but I was so worried that the boys were going to run over the edge of the cliff, that I don't think I really savored the moment properly.  All the same, it was lots of fun.  And I didn't get sunburned.  Hurray!